


Wildflower

by SecondaryVulpine



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/F, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, and it's not even kerberos effect smh, botw au, my return after like three years, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23904796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecondaryVulpine/pseuds/SecondaryVulpine
Summary: 'Pidge plucked the flower beside her, bringing it to her nose as she gazed out at the far-reaching lands of Hyrule, the golden sun somehow brightening the dilapidated castle with the vicious swirling of evil around it. Breathing in the earthy smell, the champion smiled.“But it seems like I just need to get to know you, Princess.”'or: Hyrule Champion Pidge tries her best for the Princess.
Relationships: Allura/Pidge | Katie Holt
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Wildflower

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to twobit-anime-trash on tumblr for throwing out that sick as fuck Pallura BotW au. You guys should go their blog!

The cold chill ran down the mountain, and straight into Pidge’s neck.

She clutched the green-dyed Hylian cloak closer, leaning ever so near to her campfire as she stirred the cooking pot. It needed to be something spicy to help overcome the cold night that was seemingly looming every path she traveled.

Peppers were thrown into the pot as she pondered; it was about two hours until she reached, what she hoped, was Kakariko Village. As per King Alfor’s request to her; Princess Allura’s personal guard.

A hundred years of sleeping in dank waters on the peaks of Hyrule left her mind absent of any memory of Alfor or his daughter, but the muscle memory of a frantic beating heart pushed her to accept this request and jump to the depths below the Great Plateau.

Everything seemed minuscule after hearing his plea for the safe return of Allura out of the castle that lay wrapped in the malevolent claws of the swirling mass that was Zarkon. The beady eyes of any monster turned to a mouse’s gaze, her quest far more important than any fear that could take ahold of her.

Pidge, at some point, was a knight to royalty. A vanguard of defense for the weak and the noble, to follow a task from a King was hardcoded into her brain as a high priority. Even without her memories, she knew that she had to get to Kakariko as soon as possible.

Of course, her orienteering skills were left to absent ages as she managed to overshoot Kakariko and end up in Hateno Village. Despite this small hiccup, she got some decent clothes on her back and even had the luxury of dying them with the various flora she collected. Plus, the treacherous heights of Hateno Tower rewarded her with a partial map for her slate to guide her on her journey.

Pidge was back on track now.

Although, the lurking thoughts did still take up her attention. Like the laboratory that stood atop Hateno’s hill, she could not gain access to it but the statue that guarded it seemed to require some sort of energy source. Perhaps that was the key?

Then there was the matter of the legendary sword that she had heard in many places on her trip, a blade that held the power to seal away darkness. Supposedly, a hero from a hundred years ago wielded it and that await for the hero’s return. When she patched together the little information she had acquired, her brain heavily implied that the weapon was most likely hers, or at least connected to her in some way.

Her mind halted any thought as soon as a retch inducing smell reached her nose, causing her to reel back from the warm comfort of her fire for nasal safety. Her food had coagulated? Boiled over? Tried to form sentient life? She wasn’t actually sure. Pidge sighed and tipped the pot over, letting the contents that can’t even be called food anymore fall to the ground.

If she could have even one memory back, it’d be how to fucking cook…

* * *

Kakariko held some answers but mostly added more quests for her slate to register.

Coran, a man that had survived the Calamity and the fall of Hyrule, smiled from his perch on the raised wooden platform. The years had been kind on appearance, but Pidge noted the distant look in his eyes as he told her everything he could offer to tell at the moment.

It began with the legend of a valiant knight and gifted princess, the two taking on a villain of massive power with a darkness sealing sword and the blessing of the Goddesses passed on through the blood of the princess. Together as one, they sealed away the great evil.

Assisted by the Divine Beasts, four gigantic creatures that were made from the same materials as the shrines and towers she encountered with the power to level mountains, and thousands of small spider-like mobile weapons called Guardians; they lead Hyrule into an age of prosperity.

Alfor, fearful of the return of Zarkon, prepared Hyrule for the inevitable calamity. He chose four champions that excelled in their races and assigned them to the Divine Beasts. Though Coran failed to tell her when she actually came into the picture, he did confirm that she wielded the sword of legend decades ago as the Hylian champion.

He told her what to do, how to do it, and how to get there. While she wouldn’t voice it to the kind-eyed old gentlemen, but the lack of information on her background annoyed her. Sure it meant nothing to the divine beasts or Zarkon who she was a hundred years ago, being the Hylian Champion, and having the slate was enough for her to be of importance. It was enough for the quest, and it was enough for the princess.

Pidge supposed it would be enough for her as well, for now. 

* * *

Hebra was a fiercely divided region in Hyrule. While others seemed to stick to one climate, the lands here were either freezing cold snowy alps or bright and barren cliffsides. This seemed to reflect on its champion, Keith the half-blooded Rito.

From her expedition to the surrounding grounds of the overthrown Hyrule castle, her attempts at avoiding the various Guardians that skulked around the ruins for their next targets lead her to what was left of a ceremonial site.

It was there she recalled her first memory.

A subdued appointment of her status as Princess Allura’s personal guard and as the Hylian Champion. The Princess droned on distractedly in her royal garments, reciting words of old whilst the other champions uncomfortably watched on. Pidge, at the time, seemed to just keep her head down and waited for all of it to be over.

Pidge couldn’t remember any of the faces, but she was relieved to see them regardless. Especially Keith, despite his coldness about her. 

_“This is all pretty overkill for a runt that’ll be killed by a bokoblin after all this.” The feathered young man folded his arms, looking bored at the scene in front of him. “The sword is nearly bigger than the kid, and they expect him to defeat Zarkon?”_

_Beside him, a taller man with the reddest hair Pidge had ever seen shot the Rito a knowing look._

_“Some have said the same about a certain half-blood, that someone like that could never manage to survive in_ his _environment.” The young man scowled, looking away with the smallest hint of a pout._

_“Whatever,” Keith tsked, his narrow eyes glancing back at the small knight who kneeled in front of the Princess. “At least that certain half-blood had some warrior blood in him, rather than a son of a researcher who got lucky.”_

_“That son who got lucky,” the redhead fired back. “Is a reminder to the Princess of what she could never do. And we’re going to leave it at that Keith, period.”_

Pidge wished he didn’t leave it at that, as an explanation for the Princess’ disdainful expression during the entire ceremony would have been fantastic. Certainly one would be happy that the Hylian Champion was found, but she figured there was a lot more to find out considering the number of photos in her slate. So she pushed the thoughts aside, for the time being, ignoring the bubbling contempt that tried to surface in favor of the interest for the other Champions in the memory.

From that brief introduction, Pidge kind of thought he was a douchebag. But that didn’t stop the giddiness she felt seeing him, like a child approaching their friend’s house for a play date. There was an excitedness she couldn’t rationalize at the thought of seeing him, and the question plagued her mind until her feet touched the wooden platform that was built off the towering structure of Rito Village.

Feeling the cool wind whip around her face, her mind snatched a memory from the deepest parts of her mind.

_“Say Champion,” Keith stood on the fencing that wrapped around the landing platform, the feathers on his winged arms blowing in the wind. “What would you say if I refused to pilot the Divine Beast?”_

_“What?” The word tumbled out of Pidge’s mouth accidentally, shocking her and making Keith’s brow raise._ Apparently she was pretty quiet a century ago, as opposed to now.

No one could stop her mindless chatter now, maybe she was subconsciously making up for the lost time.

_A crooked smile slipped onto his face as he watched her stoic expression quickly turn into confusion._

_“It speaks!” He laughed, staring up to the sky. Despite the growing annoyance at his attitude at the time, Pidge couldn’t help but notice a distant look in his eyes as he spoke on._

_“I was told that my wings weren’t strong enough to fly or fight, that I was going to be a flightless bird. So I’ve trained my whole life to be recognized as a strong Rito warrior. And I did it.” He gestured up at Medoh, the flying beast that floated in the clouds above the village._

_“I proved myself as the strongest warrior, I was chosen as the Champion for the Rito and to pilot the Divine Beast.” He turned back to her with a narrowed gaze and a familiar expression of contempt. “And for what? To be some Hylian who wants to seal the darkness’ support?”_

_“The King is not some Hylian,” she shot back in a low tone, almost as if she was afraid to speak too loud. “We are under his orders to utilize the Divine Beasts to defeat Zarkon.”_

_Keith rolled his eyes, flapping his wings to gather some wind around himself. “I meant you, runt.” Pidge scoffed, as if that insult was a new one._

_“If I didn’t want to fly up there and pilot it, what can you do? Pilot it yourself?” Suddenly, the wind started to whirl around them, a strong gust nearly making Pidge stagger back. Keith shot up with a laugh, spinning as he let himself get taken upwards. “Only a Rito can reach Medoh, Hylian.”_

_“I suppose I’ll go along, as long as you know that I’m the better warrior. Good luck with sealing the darkness, man.” He cast a haughty look down to the platform below, aiming to get a rise out of the Hylian Champion._

_Only to find the Hylian missing._

_“I dunno about being a better warrior or even a strong warrior, but I’m definitely a smart one.” A voice came from behind him, and with a turn, he found the Hylian gripping a paraglider and floating beside him. “A strong enough tailwind from either you or Medoh should be enough to get me up there.”_

_“Huh?” Pidge titled the glider, making her fly in a circle around the Rito. It was less about showing off and more about not letting Keith see her white knuckle grip struggling against the strong currents blowing against her._

_“I know I don’t look like much, everybody reminds me of that every day. People say a lot of things, Keith, how we can’t do this or that. How we’re not meant to be where we are.” She smiled at the boy with a knowing smile. “But we’re both flying right?”_

_Keith went to scoff, but a low chuckle managed to trip out instead. That low chuckle involuntarily became a hearty laugh._

_This Hylian was definitely a weird one._

_“Fine then, let’s go!” He swung his wings down hard and without warning, he and Pidge shot up at shocking speeds though Keith was several meters above her. Pidge pulled the glider in a way so that she could see the Rito, craning her neck to get some sort of reason why he suddenly dragged her up to the clouds._

_Keith smirked challengingly down at her, gesturing to the Divine Beast above them. “See you there, little Pidgeon.”_

They were rivals, she realised. The giddiness of seeing him came from the thrill of a new challenge, to prove each other -and in turn, others- wrong. Her hand reached up to her chest, gripping the green fabric as if to try and calm her beating heart as she stared up at Medoh.

The small voice of the young Rito child that was nearby spoke behind her, the strong wind carrying what was supposed to be a private whisper to her ears.

“Only a Rito can reach the great Medoh.”

Pidge fixed her eyes on Medoh, the burning sensation of determination and adrenaline filling her chest as she stared at the beast. For the briefest of seconds, she could see Keith smirking down at her, his grin goading her onto the new challenge.

Pidge grinned back. 

“See you there, Keith.”

* * *

The battle was a hard one, with a Windblight Galra thrashing her around the upper deck of Medoh’s back.

Even as Pidge floated down from Rito Village to a shrine nearby, she could still feel the aches and pains of being slammed into the various pillars that lined Medoh’s back. The only good things that came out of that fight were Keith regaining control over Medoh, her new ability to create a backdraft, and her now being able to stomach the taste of blood.

She didn’t give herself much time to rest though, her various healing and stamina concoctions would just have to do for now. The Princess and the Kingdom of Hyrule needed saving.

As her feet touched the ground a little bit away from the shrine, Pidge heard the familiar grunt of a red Moblin. She swore under her breath and immediately crouched behind the remains of a fallen column.

Of course, Hylia would put a Moblin in her path the moment Pidge’s thoughts took hold, that was her punishment for even a moment of distraction.

Pulling out her bow, Pidge kept her low as she aimed her sights on the Moblin’s head. The creature glanced around, trying to find the source of the noise it had heard moments ago. However, as soon as its head reared in her direction, an arrow swiftly found its place in its skull.

With widened eyes, the creature tumbled back only to dissolve into purple and black essence before it could fall. 

The Champion let out a breath, returning her bow to its place on her back before approaching the remains of the creature. The only good thing about Zarkon was that his method of retaining his forces’ energy to redeploy them during the blood moon meant that his army never left a corpse, saving Pidge the effort and disgust of having to get monster parts.

That would be the only good thing she’ll say about the bastard though.

Kneeling down, Pidge examined her salvaged arrow. The fletching was still alright, so back in the quiver it’ll go then. Her other hand barely grazed off the Moblin horn on the ground when a voice abruptly caught her attention.

_“How do I get inside?”_

The Champion nearly lept from her skin, she jumped back from the direction of the voice with her hand ghosting the hilt of her sword as her eyes frantically looked around.

A hazy figure knelt in front of the guidance stone of the shrine, white hair dropping around their shoulders as they continued their examination. Pidge’s hand dropped to her side with a sigh of relief.

A memory. 

_The Princess turned to look at her as Pidge approached, her hands balling up as the Champion got closer._

_“I recall telling you that I do not_ need _a chaperone,” the royal spat. Her frustration grew as Pidge stayed silent, her amber eyes watching as the Princess strode past. “And you can remind my father of that as well.”_

_Letting the Princess walk ahead, Pidge followed a little bit behind. Her footsteps caught the Princess’ ears, making her halt with shaking shoulders._

_“Did you not hear me, or do you only listen to my father when given commands?” She swung around, her face contorted with as much anger it could manage. “You’ve been training since childhood to be a knight that obeys, haven’t you? So as your princess, read my lips…”_

_The knight kept herself tight-lipped as her princess stepped forward with a yell._

_“Stop following me!”_

The arrow in her free hand snapped under her tightening grip as she breathed in the fresh air around her, the memory faded and so did Pidge’s calmness from before. She stomped over to the shrine, dropping the now broken arrow to the dirt.

It’s only part of her memories, her brain reasoned with her. There has to be more to the story, a rational part of her head chided. But Pidge recognised the way her heart squeezed when the Princess yelled, the oh so familiar feeling of bitterness. 

What she’d give to just chuck the Sheikah Slate off of this height and see if the sight of the dozens of pieces at the bottom would make her feel better.

No, no. Pidge swallowed down the feelings stuck in her throat, letting it bury itself deep in her stomach instead. As angry as she was, and even if the Princess hated her, she still had a job to do. The Princess was only a part of this quest, the bigger picture was saving the kingdom and all within it.

Her chest still throbbed even as she activated the shrine, watching the entrance open for her. The Princess was long gone from the lands of Hyrule, as was the monarchy that ruled a century ago. The old Pidge was the Princess’ knight, sure but what of now? 

With a resolved huff, Pidge marched forward. She would continue on this quest for Hyrule and its people, for the memories of the people who supported her. Pidge didn’t need a royal telling her what to do.

Allura was no princess of hers.

  
  


* * *

The rain pelted against her hood as she sprinted, the silver Moblin’s club missing her already damaged form by a hair’s breadth. It growled at her actions, too busy stomping in anger to notice Pidge pick up her broken sword’s hilt and charged forward.

Dodging the massive beast’s limbs, she leaped up to jam the jagged blade into the monster’s throat. A cry leaked out of the wound, garbled and distressed as the Moblin fell to its knees. The Champion clutched her bleeding side to watch as the beast faded away into Zarkon’s essence, the broken sword falling to the ground with the various material pieces that remained of the beast.

“Jesus,” Pidge panted as she stumbled to a slow stagger. “What’re they making swords with nowadays? Goddamn tree bark?” A wheeze from her throat interrupted any more complaining, cutting her staggered path into a fall to the mud.

Groaning, she turned her body achingly so that she lay on her back, trying to reach for her slate to summon up some of her inventory. She’ll have to use a potion if she wants to clot the wound and have an immediate recovery. 

As her hand patted her waist, no slate was to be found. However, the pain was far too great for her to have a moment of fear, instead making her pivot her head to see where the device had gone. 

With an aching turn of her neck, she spotted her slate aside a bunch of white wildflowers. Her heart unknowingly dropped at the sight of them, but her mind was only focused on grabbing her slate to get the sweet, sweet nectar that was a fairy potion.

Her hand grazed against the low leaning white petals as she stretched, making her suddenly aware of the delicate plant. Carefully moving her hand away, she grabbed her slate and pulled it to her view.

The camera application appeared upon activation, as it was the last rune she had used, and the reticle expanded around the wildflower with its orange lining to indicate she hadn’t recorded its details.

The Silent Princess.

Her heart sized up as she read the words, suddenly her wound seemed like the least important thing. Her head dragged up foggy memories of that flower, clearing only to show the face of a young woman leaning above. 

Princess Allura.

_“The Princess can only survive in the wild,” the gentle voice carried on a quaint wind. “Our botany isn’t advanced enough to make it a domesticated species. All that we can hope is that the species will grow stronger on its own,” a Pidge that was far stronger than the one that was currently bleeding on the ground leaned in._

_“If it’s anything like the princesses I’m familiar with, I’m sure it’ll be just fine.”_

_A cheeky grin crept up the champion’s face as the visible parts of the Princess’ cheeks flushed at the comment, blue iris’ peaking ever so slightly to slip a glance at the knight behind her with the faintest of a pink glimmer._

_“Thank you, Pi-” Allura’s head jolted to the side, “Oh my! Look!”_

_With a speed that rivaled their Zora companion’s swimming pace, the Princess snatched a creature from amidst the tall green grass. Her eyes lit with excitement as she spun towards her knight with a wide smile._

_While distracted by the lack of distance between the two after Allura shifted closer to show her the hot footed frog in her cupped hands, Pidge knew well enough where Allura’s mind was going as she rambled on about the nutritional benefits and short-term enhancements of the creature. A part of Pidge was excited as well, spotting a rare species like this one was quite the treat for one of their scientific explorations. A larger part dispelled such thoughts, since it knew exactly what Allura was after._

_“Princess, I understand that’s a rare find and you’re enthusiastic to learn more about it and all. But if your next words are ‘eat this for an experiment,’ we’re going back to the castle.” Pidge’s amused remark hit the nail right on the head, making Allura’s face screw up in disappointment._

_“A-As your Princess-!” The frog threatened to leap out of Allura’s hand, only for Pidge to grab it mid jump before it could escape._

_“As your trusted knight, and dare I say companion, I must be in my best shape to protect you at all times.” Pidge teased with a formal tone saved for meetings with the King and his cabinet of nobles. The defiant look on Allura’s face pushed her to tease the girl further._

_“Although if that’s not to your liking, I’m sure Lance could slip me into the Zora tribe. Or maybe since I beat Shiro in seal-racing, I can get him to squeeze me into the Gerudo village.” Not that the latter’s tribe believed that she was, in fact, a girl. She didn’t know if her ruse as a boy was that convincing or maybe the Gerudo women’s views of men were that skewed from lack of contact, but none of the women would believe that she was, in fact, a vai and not an eligible voe._

_However, the saddened look on the Princess’s face managed to waver the Hylian Champion’s joking tone. Her lower lip pouted as she looked down at the small Hylian, making Pidge’s more compassionate side take over._

_Ugh._

_“We’ll mix it with a hinox nail while we’re on the way to Zora’s Domain, how about that?”_

_Who knew how bad boiled frog liquid tastes like, but seeing the happy look resurface on Allura’s face was enough for Pidge to stomach the thought…_

… And helped her off the ground.

The slate materialized a pink potion, allowing Pidge to swallow some to speed up her healing and splash a bit on her open wounds. She sighed, letting her head drop as she let the fairies work their magic on her aching bones.

“I kind of was under the impression that you were a stuck up bitch,” she muttered under her breath. Her eyes peeked at the flowers beside her, replaying her newest memory in her head as the petals were battered by the fierce but slowly dissipating rainfall. 

The seething pain that seized her body subsided as she flicked through the few images Allura had left behind on the device, ticking off the landscape picture of a field of flowers. The two others, one where the Princess had painstakingly appointed Pidge as her knight and the other where Allura screamed at her to leave her alone, were ticked and were initially going to be the only ones she’d see.

They had left a bad taste in her mouth, making her question why her body still pushed her to tame the divine beasts, and why even after a near-death duel with the Windblight Galra and seeing the ghost of Keith that she didn’t just retire to the cabin on the Great Plateau.

But now it was obvious that they had some sort of relationship, the details hidden in the locations stored in the slate. Stronger than a simple guard-princess alliance, a close friendship of sorts. That would be the only explanation for the way her eyes began watering or how her stomach churned at the sight of the Princess’ smile, it had to be.

As the rain subsided, the cloud clearing on the horizon of the dilapidated castle she once served. A light washing over the distant lands, making waves of sunlight crash over the plains as she surveyed the lands.

Pidge plucked the flower beside her, bringing it to her nose as she gazed out at the far-reaching lands of Hyrule, the golden sun somehow brightening the dilapidated castle with the vicious swirling of evil around it. Breathing in the earthy smell, the champion smiled. 

“But it seems like I just need to get to know you, Princess.”


End file.
